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The delay in acting on the report was widely attributed to pressure from the politically influential...
Read More A political storm is brewing in the Karnataka government after the long-awaited caste census report, officially known as the Socio-economic and Educational Survey of 2015, was finally tabled in the Cabinet. However, far from ushering in a new era of social justice, the report has triggered a wave of dissent, particularly from ministers belonging to dominant communities like the Vokkaligas and Lingayats. The H Kantharaj Commission’s survey, which covered 5.
98 crore people across 1.35 crore families in Karnataka, achieving a 94.17 per cent population coverage, has been a subject of intense political debate for nearly a decade.
Its submission to the Cabinet on Friday after years of delay has ignited open disagreements within the ruling Congress. Forest minister Eshwar Khandre, speaking to CNN-News18, expressed reservations about the survey’s methodology. “Whether this survey has been done scientifically or not needs to be seen," he said, adding: “There are concerns from certain communities.
I will put forth those points in the next cabinet meeting." A special cabinet meeting is scheduled for April 17 to discuss the report’s contents and recommendations. The delay in acting on the report was widely attributed to pressure from the politically influential Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, who fear potential shifts in reservation policies.
Now, their anxieties have materialised into open dissent. While refusing to get dragged into the debate, Vokkaliga strongman and Karnataka’s deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the report had to be studied first. “We will have to sit and discuss it.
The implementation of the report can’t be decided in a hurry," he said. The opposition BJP has seized upon the internal strife, labelling the census a “diversionary tactic" by chief minister Siddaramaiah. BJP spokesperson Ashok Gowda said: “Since the Congress government came back to power in 2023, every time Siddaramaiah puts up a new drama.
He says that they will accept the caste census report, in spite of facing dissidence in the past and the present as well. Minister Khandre and several other leaders like DK Shivakumar have said that they cannot accept the census. This census has been carried out unscientifically.
Hope Siddaramaiah scraps the survey. If they want a survey, they should request the Union government to do a caste survey in Karnataka. And based on that, there should be proposals.
" The growing rift within the cabinet raises serious questions about the future of the caste census report and its potential implementation. The government is likely to buy some more time by possibly referring the report to another committee to finalise its implementation..
